Hard Boiled
by inverted.typo
Summary: He's his...he's all his, and he will never take that for granted. He'll never take HIM for granted. Even if others will T: just in case. Oneshot


Hard Boiled

_He doesn't have any actual extended powers beyond what his natural, biological anatomy provides him._

"Watch out!"

A large, thick glob of a molasses flung itself towards the seemingly unknowing archer. Speedy quickly jumped, his more than muscular legs projecting him nearly seven feet into the air, effortlessly dodging the slime that could have easily knocked him out cold. More than a reaction, an instinct rather, he grabbed two of his trust-worthy energy arrows. The two he expertly grabbed were explosives.

Speedy always knew which arrows he was grabbing, each and every time. To anyone else, the arrows looked and felt exactly the same. But not to Speedy. Never to Speedy. Each arrow had its own texture, its own feel, its own...personality...for lack of a better word.

"Why is Plasmus even in Steel City!" exclaimed Bee, her stingers aggressively pelting the alien-like creature.

She whizzed about, experimenting with different angles to attack. Speedy flung his two arrows, only to have them be engulfed into the mass of oozing putty. Two large bubbles swelled which indicated the explosives had been detonated.

"He woke up because there was a leak in his holding barrels and he traveled through sewer, ending up surfacing through the drainage pipes here," I replied irritably.

I didn't know how to fight Plasmus. Water wouldn't do any good here. It would simply run off its oily exterior to just drizzle down back to our feet. I've seen how hand-to-hand combat works with this one. You just get enveloped right in until someone breaks you free.

Speedy leaps upwards again, this time firing three arrows, each sinking themselves into Plasmus's back.

_He has talents. He has skills he's developed over the hard years of training, discipline and life's torment._

With his masked eyes furrowed, he shoots another arrow. The twins use their somewhat habitual (yet effective) strategy of going in endless circles around our target, creating a virtually inescapable ring. Screeching and bellowing, Plasmus ejects its arms into a stream of plasma at Bumblebee, his own reasonably reachable target.

Bumblebee only flies down to avoid the attack and uses her stingers again, this time aiming at its numerous green, oozing eyes. They pop, they boil, and they gurgle as she shoots at them.

Speedy's arrows detonate. Green slime erupts from the top of the large thing.

"Aqualad, hit it with something sharp!" Speedy screams at me.

I hastily grab something near-by...anything...!

_He has a weapon that he's learned to master though. A weapon in of itself is a difficult thing to even use properly. Yet here he is, using it with accuracy as sharp as a needle, his arrows as deadly as execution, and his speed comparable to my swimming._

I cry out as I run and jump off of a platform, wielding a large, aged piston. It's not exactly sharp but it's broken to where it has a sharp-ish end. I stab each eye vigorously, not really thinking about what I'm trying to accomplish.

"He's like a huge pimple-we have to release all that gross stuff he's been consuming! All that pressure!" Speedy explains as he fires more arrows.

"That's absolutely disgusting!" Bee cries out, but following his instruction none the less.

Más y Menos are still keeping the barricade.

"Disgusting but at least we know how the hell we're supposed to defeat this thing," I retort, stabbing it repeatedly.

Our efforts are seemingly useless until Speedy has had enough. He takes his own bow and jumps down next to me, as I struggle enough as it is staying on this thing's non-solidified back, before puncturing the bow deep into its largest eye.

I like to think I'm brave... But I can't help but admire the forwardness Speedy has always possessed. I know I sometimes hesitate, but he never does. Ever.

Plasmus howls in agony (assuming it feels pain at all) before exploding in all sorts of directions, sending everyone flying back a good twenty feet. I skip across the concrete floor like a rock on water, rolling and twisting until I slam against something metal. I open my eyes just in time to see Speedy be slammed right next to me.

Bee is already on her feet and rushing towards the now sleeping human, in the remains of his...other...self.

Speedy smiles at me. No. He smirks.

"We did good didn't we?"

"For our first time fighting that thing, yeah...we did all right."

My heart always thuds restlessly when he says something like that. Always praising ourselves as a team for something we accomplished. Even though it's masked as a "team effort" statement, I know what it means.

The raw translation being: I'm glad you didn't die on me today.

He helps me up and I graciously take his hand. Our hands are clasped for a brief second, and that personal electricity shocks us both.

_His attitude is always so strong and full of energy. He portrays himself as egotistical and narcasistic. He always knows what to say and how to push certain buttons on everybody's breast coat. Despite his lack of "super powers" or abilities, he has one of the strongest personalities I've ever seen. But he's mild about it...somehow, even though he's always aggressive. A strange limbo of "not too much" and "not too little"._

_Perhaps that's why he hates being compared to Robin._

The authorities come and place the dormant Plasmus into his container. He's to be shipped back to Jump City. Bumblebee had promised Más y Menos to go to their favorite candy shop to get some treats.

"We'll be home around dinner, kay?" she smiled.

The twins blurted out a ridiculous, enthusiastic chain of rapid Spanish.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going home to sleep," Speedy yawned and started heading home.

He didn't wait for me. He never does. That is...until he's a block away from the fight scene. Where he proceeds to turn around and yell, "Are you coming or not, fish paste?"

My brow by mechanics twitches in mild irritation, "Don't hold your breath, other white meat." A roll of the eyes tops it off. I jog to catch up to him and we walk home.

_Roy is harder to read than Robin is._

_That's why he hates being compared to Robin._

_They have default similarities. That's all they have in common. Their strong will to win, the fact they have gadgets and not gifted powers, even their basic thought processes holds the same in many areas._

_But they're different!_

_Robin outwardly expresses his need to help others. Roy rarely outwardly expresses anything of the nature._

_He expresses through actions, not words._

We get back to the Tower where we are alone. He sits on the couch and waits for me to join him. I do. Naturally.

I wait a few seconds before sliding over closer and gently wrapping my arms around his waist. He welcomes the gesture happily, a small smile tugging at the right of his lips. It's only genuine if it's the right side of his mouth. It's his default when it's the left side that moves first.

We sit in silence for a few minutes.

"Garth?"

I look up.

"What."

"I'm more than aware you can take care of yourself. I mean...for God's sakes you're half fish! ...Or...something. But I still want you to know I still get worried."

"...I know."

He nods briefly.

"I worry about you too, Roy. A lot."

I lean up to kiss him. He accepts and kisses back almost instantly. I wrap my arms around his neck and his arms coil around my waist. Our lips move in a familiar dance, perfectly in sync. We hold each other firmly until I'm pushed down onto the couch. I hold him tighter.  
I'm not used to holding my breath, seeing as I breath just fine in water and on land. I end up panting far earlier than Roy does, and I unwillingly pull away.

_He always expresses through actions._

_And I love it._

_It's why I love him._

_He's like a hard boiled egg. A hard, irritating shell on the outside that takes too much effort to break. But if you do break it (which not many truly do) there's a soft, squishy inside. Supple and bouncy, but easily breakable._

_It means that only a select few if any get to see that soft side...that he treasures his true emotions too much to allow any random outsider to poke at them._

_It's more than a privilege for me to be able to see such a raw side of him._

After a few seconds of catching my breath, a dark blush already dusting my cheeks, I lean in for another well awaited kiss. I can feel Roy smile against my lips. It's a very satisfying feeling. It means I'm making him happy. It means that the shell is all gone.

Whose heart is beating so fast against my chest? His...or mine? Both?

I don't let go, I don't lighten my grip. I only hold him tighter, scared that he'll slither away from me forever if I dare let go. But how can that be, if he's holding just as tight to me as I am to him? Maybe he's worried I'll slither away too.

We pull back after a few more minutes.

I gaze at him. I'm not sure what expression my face holds at the moment. All I can do is admire his sharp features, that perfectly combed red hair and his lean but toned body. My hands cup his face, and I suddenly yearn to see those emerald green eyes. I see them often enough, but the urge still strikes me as if it were the first time he told me he'd take off that damn mask. So I slowly reach for the corners of them and peel off the small extra layer of his face.

Aha! There they are...those shining emeralds that only I get to see. They look deep into my blank eyes with such emotion. Love, will and happiness.

I wonder...can he see any emotion in my eyes?

"Happy anniversary, Garth..." he gasps lightly, combing his fingers through my hair, his eyes locked with mine.

"Happy anniversary," I respond, smiling wider than I can ever remember.

* * *

**Hello! Hello!**

**Ahhh there is a demand for much more of this pairing. SpeedyxAqualad~**

**I love these two so much.**

**I love Speedy. He's my favorite of the two, but I wanted to see if I could get any good in character-ness from Aqualad... But of course it ended up being about Speedy fffff. **

**Welp hope you enjoyed the fluff! **


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